Abstract
Initially, ghost imaging (GI) was demonstrated with entangled light from parametric down conversion. Later, classical light sources were introduced with the development of thermal light GI concepts. State-of-the-art classical GI light sources rely either on complex combinations of coherent light with spatially randomizing optical elements or on incoherent lamps with monochromating optics, however suffering strong losses of efficiency and directionality. Here, a broad-area superluminescent diode is proposed as a new light source for classical ghost imaging. The coherence behavior of this spectrally broadband emitting opto-electronic light source is investigated in detail. An interferometric two-photon detection technique is exploited in order to resolve the ultra-short correlation timescales. We thereby quantify the coherence time, the photon statistics as well as the number of spatial modes unveiling a complete incoherent light behavior. With a one-dimensional proof-of-principle GI experiment, we introduce these compact emitters to the field which could be beneficial for high-speed GI systems as well as for long range GI sensing in future applications.
Highlights
IntroductionSuperluminescent diodes are semiconductor-based opto-electronic emitters capable of emitting spectrally broadband light with several tens to hundreds of nanometer spectral width in terms of wavelength together with high output powers
The BA-SLD is operated at room temperature and the pump current is set to approximately 1.3A, well above amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) threshold
We investigate the coherence of the BA-SLD light in the spatial domain
Summary
Superluminescent diodes are semiconductor-based opto-electronic emitters capable of emitting spectrally broadband light with several tens to hundreds of nanometer spectral width in terms of wavelength together with high output powers. A broadband optical gain material is embedded inside a waveguide structure. SLD emission is highly directional which supplies efficient broadband light for practical implementation. SLDs are purely injection-current pumped constituting easy-to-handle, miniaturized and robust light sources for a vast field of applications such as optical coherence tomography, distance measurements and optical gyroscopes[27,28,29,30]. The tapered waveguide structure consists of a straight section of 500 μmlength and 14 μmwidth followed by the tapered section of 5500 μm length and a resulting facet width of 110 μm. The Gaussian-like shape of the spectrum is due to single state (ground state) emission of the optically active QDs32
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